


The Buddy System

by hideeho



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 5+1, Angst and Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Mission: Evan Buckley Self-Esteem, Self-Esteem Issues, Soft Eddie Diaz, reference to suicide, reference to wartime violence and death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22094407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hideeho/pseuds/hideeho
Summary: 5 times Eddie Diaz supported Evan Buckley + 1 time he didn't
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 65
Kudos: 740





	The Buddy System

****

i.  
A Spot

Eddie’s eyes wandered from the sharp curve of muscled shoulder, past the defined biceps dripping with sweat to the long fingers curled around the bar as Evan continued his reps. Buck’s tongue slid out to the corner of his mouth in concentration, his brow furrowing as he strained to complete the last one in complete and total focus.

“Really good form today,” Eddie noted, moving to grab the bar from the other man’s hands to place it back on the stand.

“As opposed to normally,” Buck shot back, instantly deflecting the compliment before the other shoe could drop.

“You always have good form,” he replied patiently, “but I can see you’re pressing more weight today and you still didn’t slack once. Good work.” It was easy for form to get sloppy when increasing weight, but Buck had kept his form tight. That level of discipline was about more than repetition.

For the briefest moment Buck shifted under the compliment, as if an army of ants had suddenly decided to parade under his skin. If he didn’t know him so well it would have been easy to miss it. Just as quickly he was moving to stand up and tower over him, his mouth curved in a smirk. “You’ve been watching me, have you? Enjoying the view?”

Eddie rolled his eyes and handed him a bottle of water, not rising to the bait. Buck always did this when he got a compliment. The man had no problem accepting a ribbing or a genuine insult, but compliments not associated with his looks always seemed to be treated as hostile weapons. As if the only thing worth valuing was the lucky genetic hand he got dealt. It would be easy to chalk it up to his flirty nature and let it slide, but he needed Buck to know he had more to offer than his looks and his body.

He moved to rest his hand on the other’s man’s shoulder, the skin warm under his touch. Brown eyes met blue ones and held them. Evan might be taller, but that had never intimidated him the way it did so many others. He simply stood for a moment, grounding the other man so he couldn’t fidget away.

He wasn’t sure when he first noticed his inability to accept compliments, but now each instance itched at him. They took shots at each other, that wasn’t going to change, but he made it a point to comment on things that deserved noticing as well. Eddie was careful to only offer genuine compliments, knowing Buck would call bullshit on anything else and undermining any genuine admiration given. He didn’t want to come off as some patronizing asshole, but he needed Buck to see even some of what he could see. What made him so loved by everyone in the station. Buck had all the cockiness in the world, but years in the army taught Eddie that sometimes the loudest were the ones that lacked confidence the most.

“Take the compliment, man. You’ve earned it.”

“Didn’t realize you were also a personal trainer as well as a medic, G.I. Joe _and_ street fighter. I’d be impressed, but as you just saw I can press more weight than you.”

“You might be able to out press me in weight,” he admitted, stepping forward without thinking and crowding his space as Buck had done to him so many times before. “But I’ve got the better stamina.”

They both jumped slightly as the alarm rang and if Eddie noticed a sudden increase in pulse he was happy to wave it away as adrenaline from the new call.

****

ii.  
A Stain

Eddie found him in the locker room, curled over himself on a bench. How could such a tall man take up so little room? His skin was pale, and although he wasn’t crying or making a sound, the shake of his body made him appear as if he was sobbing on mute.

“Hey, man. I’m just checking in on you,” he said softly, approaching him slowly as he knelt on the ground before him. He placed on hand on the other man’s knee, trying to get him to catch his eye. “Buck?” If he didn’t know any better he’d think the other man was going into shock and after the call they had maybe he was. He brought his other hand to Buck’s wrist, sliding his fingers around to take his pulse.

He had an elevated heartbeat, but nothing that it suggested it was more than lingering adrenaline.

“Buck? How are you feeling?” A beat. “Buck, I’d really appreciate if you could say something to me. Evan?”

Buck looked up in surprise, as if just now realizing someone else was there.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay. Or if not okay, I want you to know that I’m here.”

“M-m-my shirt has a stain,” Buck said softly, hands shaking as he pulled the hem forward for Eddie to see. The fabric was spattered with dark red – almost brown now in a curved pattern. A spray of blood from where the victim shot a bullet through his brain before they could stop him. Buck had tried to reach him. Ignoring all shouts to stay back. He tried, but he couldn’t stop him. None of them could.

Looking back he would hopefully know that, but right now Buck was lost in the horror of it.

“It has a stain. I need to get it out, I need to get it—I don’t want this on me. I need to get-” Buck was starting to scramble, as if touching an electric wire as his breathing quickened and hitched.

“Okay, okay, Buck. I’ve got you, remember. Here,” he said calmly, standing to help pull Buck’s shirt off of him. It was easier to see how badly the other man was shaking now, skin paler than normal and beads of sweat pouring on his face.

He knew this look. Knew this look from watching other men step over the torn and scattered bodies of their friends after an IED blasted them off course.

He quickly moved to stand behind Buck, wrapping his arms in an X around him like a security blanket, placing his chin on his shoulder to ground him. “You’re here, Buck. You’re safe. You’re okay. You’re here, you’re safe, you’re okay.” He repeated the mantra, rocking the other man back and forth and holding on as if to tether him to the earth.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. Long enough to warn someone away with a look when they came in to check on them. Long enough for his shoulder to ache from the angle of leaning down, but he didn’t dare release his hold. Not until Buck moved to stand up, coming down from his daze. “I’m sorry, I don’t why I—I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Today was a bad day, but I’ve got your back, remember? I’ve always got your back. Come on, let’s go get you some food to warm you up and then we’ll call Christopher. He has learned the glory of puns and wants to share them all with you.”

“Yeah,” Buck asked hopefully. “Yeah, I’d like that. And Eddie…thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ve got you.”

****

iii.  
A Scuffle

“Okay, okay, everyone break it up and give us some room to work,” Bobby demanded, trying to get the man with a broken beer bottle embedded to the side of his face. Hen and Chim began assessing the damage as the rest of them went to work as crowd control.

Eddie hated working during playoff season. It was three in the afternoon and everyone was drunk of their face. He could spot at least ten people who could use an IV drip in this room alone.

The room was a testosterone filled pissing contest and already there had been one brawl broken up. He could still feel the tension prickling under the surface as a few bravados kept looking to pick their next fight.

Out of the corner of he could see someone getting in Buck’s face and refusing to heed his directions. His eyes narrowed as Buck lifted his hands up in a nonthreatening pose, telling the guy to step back. He knew that aggressive posture, the straightening of shoulders and the flexing of fingers into a fist. Buck was moments away from being in the middle of a fight.

Eddie moved to step in when Cap warned him off. “Eddie. Leave it. He can take care of himself.”

Eddie knew that. Of course, he knew that. Buck was a professional the same as him. But he was also a walking target against misplaced male aggression with his imposing physique and undeniable good looks. Everyone wanted to take down the top dog, but this top dog was on blood thinners and one bad hit could mean a series of unnecessary complications.

“Cap, I’m just going to give him a—”

“Eddie.”

“I’m just assisting, that’s all. I’ll keep my hands to myself,” he said, shame burning him that he had to make that clear at all. “Please.” Cap hesitated a moment before nodding his consent, going back to focus on the crowd in front of him.

Eddie was over there in a flash, happy to step between the escalating encounter. Buck only seemed annoyed by the intrusion, but he could live with that. “Hey man, you need to step back and take a beat. We’re just here to do our jobs.”

“I told him that already,” Buck snapped with annoyance. “But he doesn’t want to listen.”

“That guy needs to pay for what he said to me!”

“Pretty sure a beer bottle to the head is payment enough,” Buck retorted with a roll of his eyes. That seemed to be all the excuse the other man needed to pull his arm back, fist moving through the air before Buck could property deflect.

Eddie was quick to throw himself in front of the other man’s fist. Thanks to their height difference, the punch meant for Buck’s jaw landed hard on Eddie’s temple and for a moment he saw stars. The force sent him stepping back into Buck, the other man’s hands catching his arms and steadying him.

Fuck, that hurt.

“Oh, you want to go, is that it?” Eddie braced himself for the next hit, before a familiar booming voice rang out.

“Freeze, asshole! Don’t make me taze you, because I assure you it would give me great pleasure to do so.” Athena Grant was a beautiful woman. It was only a shame he couldn’t watch her give that man the riot act as Buck was quickly pulling him to the side.

“What the hell was that?”

“I got punched.”

“No shit, Sherlock. Why did you step in like that? I had it handled.”

“He was going to _hit_ you, Buck.”

“And? You don’t need to coddle me.”

“I wasn’t _coddling_ you. You can’t go around getting in fights on blood thinners. Besides, it doesn’t matter if I get hit, I know how to take a punch.” Eddie processed the flinch on Buck’s face and filed it away for later.

“It _matters_ , Eddie. It matters to me. You should have just blocked it or something.”

“I told Cap I’d keep my hands to myself.”

“You are so stupid sometimes, you know that?”

“It’s a good thing I’m pretty. Or I was until that guy hit me.”

“You’re still pretty.” And that…that was… Nothing. Buck being Buck. Still, it made him feel a little less terrible about the blow to the head. “Come on, I’ll patch you up. I’m not thanking you by the way. You’re still stupid.”

About Buck? Absolutely.

****

iv.  
A Son

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Chris declared, hands reaching out for Eddie to hand him his crutches from where they lay on the booth.

“I’ll go with you,” Buck offered from beside him, placing his napkin on the table to follow.

“No, I’ve got it. I can do it.”

Eddie smiled, purposefully fighting back the urge to help him. Christopher was declaring more and more independence for himself every day. He couldn’t be prouder of his son, but he still worried about him and the struggles he would have to face. Still, he wouldn’t be the one to stand in his way.

Christopher made his way to the bathroom, offering an “excuse me” to the waitress as she passed with a tray of refills.

“Your son is so well behaved,” she said as she approached the table, looking directly at Buck with a wide smile. “And he looks so much like you! You’re clearly a great dad.” Buck was quick to fluster under the mistake, opening his mouth to correct her when Eddie cut in.

“You’re right, he’s really lucky to have him,” he agreed. “He’s great with him. A complete natural.” The waitress smiled before heading off to help her next table. It was hardly the first time someone mistook Chris for Buck’s son. Or the fifth. This was just the first time Buck had been around to hear it.

“Why didn’t you correct her,” Buck asked in confusion once she was finally out of earshot.

“Why would I?”

“Because he’s not my son.” His heart ached for a life they might have had in another world, but he shook it out of his mind.

“Maybe not by blood, but you’re there for all the important stuff. That makes you a parental figure, right? And Christopher obviously loves you. Besides, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.” Buck seemed to be struggling with the implication of it all and Eddie worried he had pressed too much on him. “Hey man, I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable, I didn’t mean to—”

“No,” Buck said, quickly cutting him off as he leaned forward on the table. “I do. I mean, I want to be. If _you_ want me to be. And Christopher. It’s just…I guess I never thought anyone would think of me as a parental figure. Or want to.”

“I don’t trust just anyone with my son’s life. I’d be lucky for him to end up like you. Without the whole Buck 1.0 saga.”

“Hey, you heard the lady. He takes after me. We can’t help it that people can’t resist themselves around us. _Hey_ -,” Buck exclaimed, wiping the greasy spot on the center of his forehead where a fry just hit. “He clearly gets his manners from me as well.”

Eddie smiled into his cup.

****

v.  
A Slip

“GO BUCK! WOOOOO! WAY TO GO,” Eddie hollered from the back of the room, straight up on his feet as he clapped as loud as he could.

Evan beamed as he jumped down from the stage, accepting his praise from a bachelorette party as he walked on by.

“You were great, Buck!”

“He was _okay,_ ” Chim argued, winking at Buck with a sly smirk.

“No, he was _great_ ,” Eddie insisted, clapping his hand on Buck’s shoulder and watching him soak in the praise.

“Thanks, man. I still can’t believe you came out to karaoke.”

“Why not,” Maddie asked curiously, handing her brother the pitcher of beer to fill up his glass.

“Eddie _hates_ karaoke. I mean _hates_ it.”

“So why did you come out?”

“Because Buck loves it,” he said without thinking, regretting it immediately when Chim raised his brow. A stupid slip of the tongue, but the truth nonetheless. Chim and Maddie shared a look between them and Eddie was doing everything in his power not to give it any notice.

“You know, I think it’s time for us to do a duet. Watch the table for us,” Maddie said, pulling Chim by the hand.

“Why are you smiling like that,” Buck asked obliviously. Eddie didn’t know whether to be thankful or shake him. “You better not sing anything gross!” Maddie just rolled her eyes as they made their way back up to sign up for another song. “They are so weird. Cute, but weird.”

“They’re good together,” Eddie agreed, his happiness for them shadowed briefly by a hollow pang of jealousy.

“We’re better.”

Eddie snorted. “Unless you’ve started liking men, I’m pretty sure that’s not a direct comparison. But yeah, we’re better.”

“Takes two to tangle.”

“I’m excellent at tango.” An admission and a deflection all at once. Suddenly Eddie was very aware of the heat of Buck’s thigh pressed against his own in the booth. They always seemed to be touching. Not that Eddie minded, but on the lonelier days when he felt himself leaning in a littler farther or linger a moment longer he couldn’t help but feel guilty for using his friend for something that would never be reciprocated.

Except in moments like this, he couldn’t help but think…

“You came to karaoke for me.”

“I did.”

“You hate karaoke.”

“Having a bit of déjà vu here, Buck.”

“Why?”

“I told you why.”

“ _Why?_ ”

“Because sometimes when you love someone that means listening to drunk people sing terribly off key until I want to jab a knife in my ear.”

He had to be imagining the way Buck’s eyelashes fluttered, or the way his pink tongue darted out to wet his lips. He had to be imagining it, because they were teetering on a line Eddie had been so careful to balance. Either way he fell from this he was going to fall hard.

“But when you say you love me, do you mean you love me or _love_ me,” Buck started, his eyes crinkling with the beginning seeds of self-doubt. As if he found it so hard to believe he could be loved. Buck was all instinct and passion and just this once Eddie was going to follow his lead.

Eddie pulled Buck to him before he could overthink it, lips sliding against the other man’s softly, giving him room to pull back or push him away. He could feel the soft hitch of Buck’s breath against his lips. When he didn’t move away he deepened the kiss, one hand sliding through the fine hairs at the back of Evan’s neck and the other resting heavily on his thigh. “I _love_ you.”

“But why?”

“Because you’re everything.” One day he was going to make him believe it.

****

\+ i.  
A Seance

“Come on, Eddie, _please_.”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Come on, let me in. I miss you.”

“I told you, if you and Maddie are going to go around trying to contact ghosts on Friday the thirteenth then you are not allowed into this house until Saturday. That is some white people nonsense and I won’t stand for it.”

“Your mom is Swedish.”

“And yet, I still know not to go around playing with the devil board.”

“I can’t believe you all call me the superstitious one. You’re being ridiculous. Ouija boards can’t actually hurt you!”

“Sorry, I have a child to think about. I can’t let some vengeful spirit follow you home and possess our boy.” Eddie bit back his smile as he heard Buck grumble from the other side of the door. He could just use his key if he really wanted in but was being respectful of Eddie’s temporary ban. Sort of respectful. He was still standing outside the door like a wounded puppy wanting to be let in.

“He’s not even home tonight! We both know he’s at Hen’s. Hey, Eddie.”

“No.”

“ _Eddie_.”

“ _What_?”

“It’s midnight. Officially the fourteenth.”

Buck stumbled forward in surprise as the door suddenly opened, Eddie’s hand reaching up to ball up Evan’s shirt and pull him in for a kiss. Buck quickly stepped in to grab Eddie’s face, angling him just right as their tongues fought for dominance.

“How do you know I’m not possessed right now,” Buck teased into Eddie’s ear, running his tongue down the shell of his ear.

“Because you taste like heaven.”

“That is officially the cheesiest thing I have ever heard anyone say.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.” His wish was Eddie’s command.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! All comments are appreciated. It's my first fic in this fandom and my first fanfic in 4 years, so I appreciate your thoughts!


End file.
